AN: OK. Now Huntresses and Riders is going on its hiatus as I bash out the chapters to the other stories. Also, this is my 9th longest story; beating out Masked Family by a thousand and a bit more words. It still has a ways to go before it comes close to the behemoths of The Ultra Crystals and Powers Unleashed though...
Chapter Eight: We're All In This Moment
"Where's the Headmaster?"
Kenzaki shook his head as he looked behind him at the triple-bolted blast doors that had closed once they were outside. The events of the past five minutes weighed heavily on his heart, much like the fifteen second Semblance-assisted 'ride' up the broken elevator shaft was weighing heavily on his stomach. Judging from the sounds he could hear, Jaune had lost that particular battle. Ruby was looking at him with concern and the other girls were wisely keeping their distance from him but kept sending awed glances in his direction. It seemed to him that Ruby had informed them that he was a Rider and one from a long time before the destruction of the moon. Punching the concrete in sheer frustration, he grimaced at the dark green blood that seeped through the cut and turned back to Glynda.
"He's inside, fighting with Cinder." He growled. "I should be there, avenging Amber, not stuck out here wondering why that bitch managed to waltz past everyone here!"
James shook his head as he thought of the events that unfolded just minutes prior. Despite knowing exactly what she looked like and what she was capable of, the fiend had slipped through their fingers. Perhaps it was for the best that their security had been lax as, Riders or not, they wouldn't have stood much of a chance against her advanced magic. And, yet, he knew they could have tried their hardest to stop her in her tracks by putting her against the full might of four Riders. Maybe then Amber could have been moved to the secondary storage area and looked after, possibly even healed, by the powerful spirits that inhabited it. At the very least, she would have been safe. He scowled as he heard a rapidly approaching Atlas fighter/transport ship. He didn't have to use his enhanced vision to see that it was a prototype model based off extremely ancient blueprints of something called a Concorde.
"We didn't know it was her, Kenzaki," He said with a heavy sigh. "She disguised herself as a scared staff member and slipped through before we knew what happened. Unfortunately, we have bigger problems coming in."
Kenzaki looked around at the assembled group and shook his head in despair. There were five Riders now, more that he had ever seen on any 'Day One' of any Rider 'campaign'; they had a wave of Grimm coming in that was Gaim-knew-where and he had turned into his Joker form for the first time in years…meaning Hajime would be calling him up in a few hours to see if everything was all right. Shaking his head as Pyrrha shot him a concerned glance; he looked up at the smoke-filled skies and wondered what could be worse than this.
"What could be bigger than this?" He asked. "It's already shitty enough that all five Systems are out in the open and…oh, you have got to be kidding me."
In a rush of wind strong enough to knock most of them to the ground, a large white and silver Altesian CZ-958 First Class Transport Prototype Model landed to their left. Instead of the Gatling guns that characterised the wings and the silhouette of other drop ships, the First Class Transport was modelled after an old Concorde plane that Kenzaki hadn't seen since the early nineties. The lack of visible armaments didn't mean it wasn't armed though. Small energy emitters had been strategically placed along the body of the plane to act as deterrents for aerial Grimm and a larger array was in place just under the cockpit. The back of the plane lowered to reveal a tall man with white hair, a thick white moustache and piercing steel-grey eyes. Weiss' knees started to shake imperceptibly as she laid eyes on her father for the first time in several months but she had to be strong. Her friends were with her and…wait, did Ken just groan in annoyance? Shaking her head to cover her smile, she stepped forward and addressed her father.
"Father?" Weiss asked, confused. "What are you doing here? It's not safe for you!"
Gerard Schnee looked at his daughter and barely suppressed a grimace. Her clothes were dirty and scuffed and there were signs she had actually been fighting the Grimm. He had allowed her to attend this school on the understanding that she was to be the leader of a team and not take part in any actual battles. The images he had seen around an hour or so prior showing the small child transforming into an armoured warrior didn't do anything to alleviate his concerns that Beacon Academy's standards had fallen. She was also associating herself and, by extension, the family name with mere commoners and one of the people Ironwood's associate swore up and down by. As Head and Owner of the Schnee Dust Company, he expected more of the company his daughter would keep around her. Now that he had lost Winter to the military life, he was hoping Weiss would have come to her senses by now. The world was becoming too disorderly and the only way he would see that order restored was if Weiss was with him at the top of everything.
"I came to see what is happening here," he snorted, his feet stepping on the uneven pavement. "And I also came to escort you back to Atlas. The situation in Beacon and Vale is becoming untenable and you should not be caught up in this mess; certainly not with this bunch of riffraff ."
"With all due respect sir," Ruby began, seeing Weiss and Kenzaki motion at her to stop. "Weiss is an invaluable member of our team. We wouldn't be where we are if she wasn't –"
The man held up a hand, stopping her next words. He noted the way Weiss looked at the girl with a mixture of surprise and even the barest hints of love; something that astounded him. He was astounded as the thought of someone as distant and withdrawn as Weiss finding love so quickly was an incredulous thought…which brought about a strange sense of conflict. She wasn't the scared girl she had been growing up and that meant she felt she was finally out of his shadow. As a parent, he couldn't deny the immense pride he felt at the thought that her harsh upbringing hadn't blotted out the light inside her. Unfortunately, the anger at the thought of her breaking free and finding her own measure of happiness soon eclipsed his pride. Unseen by the Riders or Huntsmen, his eyes turned to black with red irises for the briefest of moments.
"'With all due respect'? Little girl, you don't even know me so you can't respect me." Gerard snorted in derision. "In fact, I find it laughable that a girl as young as yourself would be accepted into the hallowed halls of this institute when you're barely out of your diapers."
Weiss shook her head, finally breaking out of the slightly terrified trance she had been under. This was not the time, nor place, to be having this sort of talk. Her father had controlled her enough over the years and one of the final straws had been him using several unsavoury contacts to attack her with a Grimm-controlled suit of armour. The scar she bore over her right eye would forever remind her of what a manipulative and controlling father he could be…even if she hadn't known it had been sent by him at the time. Although she had only come into contact with him a few times, she would forever be grateful to Atlas' Chief Military Technician Kaito. Forcing her legs to move towards him, she glanced behind her for the briefest of moments before speaking through clenched teeth.
"Father, that's enough." She ground out. "I will not have you making an ass of yourself in front of my friends."
Qrow chuckled under his breath but his mirth slammed to an abrupt halt as he saw the crowd at the far end of the street. Grimm of all shapes and sizes, from Beowulves to Creepers and Deathstalkers, were all charging at their position. The other Professors from the Academy had rounded up the surviving Huntsmen and Huntresses, including many of the teams from the Colosseum, and had tasked them with protecting the border between Beacon and the City of Vale. Thankfully, none of the Grimm had made it that far yet but they needed to ensure that the CCT System was protected so relief from other countries could come swiftly. He noticed Ironwood and Glynda subtly tensing up as they noticed the approaching wave of creatures and began running through every single fighting strategy he knew in his mind.
"Hey, I hate to interrupt this father-daughter bonding you got going on here but," Qrow pointed to the end of the street. "We have incoming. Quite a lot of them too and I don't think you'll be able to handle them unarmoured, if you catch my meaning."
Ruby followed her uncle's finger and swallowed hard as she saw the black, white and red tsunami barrelling towards them. By her calculations, they would be upon them within a few minutes and she needed Weiss to step away from her father. She didn't know why but something inside her was telling her that he was bad news. It was the same feeling she had gotten when fighting the Grimm Monsters or facing down the madman Auric.
"You are always as remarkably unsubtle as ever," Kenzaki smirked, drawing out the Blay Buckle. "Ladies, it's time."
Yang and the others chuckled, recalling the events of a few hours ago when he had said something to that effect. Even Weiss allowed a brief smile to cross her face as she wondered what trick her father had up his sleeve this time.
"I thought I told you earlier," Ruby chuckled, stepping up beside Kenzaki. "We're not ladies yet!"
Kenzaki looked at the young woman and nodded once. He knew where her family line had started and knew that her ancestors would be proud of the person in front of him. A brief burst of pain blossomed in his gut as he wished Amber could have been there but he knew that she was watching over them before her final sojourn. Looking at his Buckle, he smiled as he realised the Evolution King Card was still in the slot and decided not to exchange it for the Ace card. Placing it on his waist, he absently wondered when he would ever forgo the flashy sequence when other Riders were present and just use the Chalice Rouser that had been granted to him. As Yang, Blake and even Pyrrha, much to the confusion of Nora and Ren, stepped up next to him, he mentally wrestled with what he was going to reveal to them before deciding they needed to know.
"This is the true call of a Kamen Rider." He spoke loud enough for Weiss to hear. "Once you say this one word, you will never be able to go back to your normal life. It is a simple word but one that carries an enormous weight, a Rider's Burden, which will reveal itself in time. However, if you stay true to your heart and your friends, you won't shoulder it alone. Are you ready?"
One by one, all of them nodded. Surprisingly, Weiss had been the first to affirm the dedication to the cause of a Rider and Kenzaki wondered why she was so eager to leave her normal life behind. On the other hand, he was sure anyone under the thumb of the 'great' Gerard Schnee wanted to break away any way they could. On his hypothetical third hand, both Schnees were engaged in a staring contest with each other but Gerard was looking strangely at him. Anyway, it wasn't the time to dwell on such things.
"Henshin!" Kenzaki cried, turning the lever and releasing the golden projection.
The familiar empowering energy washed over his body, mixing the Caucasus Undead DNA with his own mutated DNA. Within moments, the thick indigo trimmed golden armour materialised over his body. As had always been the case, the symbols of all thirteen Undead cards materialised on his armour, the Ace symbol appearing on his chest last. Opening his right hand, he gripped the materialising King Rouser and held it close to his left shoulder. He was bracing himself for another supercharging of the Rider Grid – something that hadn't happened since the battle with the Awakened Spider Wraith all those centuries ago. It was amusing to him that no matter how many multiple Rider battles he had been a part of, none of them managed to send any sort of massive jolt through the Rider Grid like the Interdimensional Rider had. He could also swear he still felt some of the effects but that was pretty much impossible. Even if energy couldn't really be destroyed, the boosting power surely would have faded after time.
"Henshin!" Ruby slammed her hand on top of the scythe, pushing it down to release the energy stored within.
She wondered if she would ever get used to the tingling sensation that spread through her body. On the other hand, she had only transformed once before and had been too freaked out by Auric to consider transforming on her downward plunge. Thankfully, Kenzaki had transformed into a flight-based form and had saved her from becoming road pizza. As her insect armour formed around her, she wondered how old he really was to personally know Auric and why his armour seemed to have a slightly organic pulsing to it. She had a strange feeling she wouldn't like the answer to that question. Hearing a soft click as the helmet formed around her head, she wondered about the strange Rider she could see in the energy cyclone; a streamlined fighter with red eyes and a strange panel on his abdomen that fought with an energy blade and could change forms at will. She wondered what his connection to her was and why she could feel a familial connection to him.
"Henshin!" Yang brought the top of her knuckles down on the skeletal hand, wondering why the foreign word sounded…right.
The wall of bones burst through the ground, encasing her in her bodysuit as she heard the surprised yelps from her sister and the others. Instead of slowly moulding onto her body as it had done before, her armour painfully slammed on her body and activated her Semblance. Cracking her knuckles as an orange warrior in crackling fire-like armour appeared next to her; she smiled wickedly and prepared to engage in her first real battle as an armoured warrior: a Kamen Rider. However, a small part of her wondered what her Rider Burden would be and if it would have anything to do with the Faunus beside her. She would have to find some time in the future to sit down and hash out her feelings before it became too much of a weight on her shoulders. On the other hand, it seemed as though she would be having the same talk with Ruby about Weiss in the future…something she didn't know if she could really do.
"Henshin." Blake snapped the lower jaw of the skull up as the roar of the beast ran in her ears once again.
The energy cyclone that formed was much wilder than it had been earlier, whipping her hair up and even threatening to rip away the fabric that concealed her cat-like ears. Acting on a whim, she reached up as the silver and red bodysuit appeared and pulled off the fabric to allow her true nature to be revealed. A pleased purr reverberated through the air as the animal appeared in front of her again, nuzzling her hand before melting away to form her torso armour. A jolt of power rippled through her body as a deep roar was accompanied by a flash of the orange clad Rider in front of her. Blinking once, the spectre faded from view but the power she felt didn't; almost as if some unseen force was imparting its power into her. Allowing her HUD to flicker to life, she could hear the strangled sounds of incredulity and amazement coming from Weiss' father.
"Weiss!" Gerard snapped, angry that he had never seen this technology before. "Come away from there at once! You are still my daughter and I forbid you to partake in this madness!"
Pyrrha only had a brief moment to look at the ancient Scroll-like device before information flowed into her mind. It was telling her that the ARKOS System was made up of the Transceiver Phone and the Drive Port Belt and that she would have to 'unlock' the screen in order for the transformation to happen smoothly. This could be done via a fingerprint scan, which relied on something she hadn't had time to do yet, or it could be done by moving her finger to the right on the screen. She wondered how all of this information was flowing into her mind so smoothly but she wasn't going to question anything at this point in time.
"Henshin!" She swiped her finger across the screen and placed it expertly in the Drive Port, the screen facing her stomach.
A brief hum of power was all the warning she was able to receive before thick bolts of orange and blue material burst from both sides of the Buckle to cover her body; moulding itself to form a protective undersuit. Forming one section at a time, torso armour that looked to be made up of copper or bronze formed over her chest and upper arms and, interestingly enough, looked incredibly similar to her normal battle armour; right down to the corset-like lacing down her back. The only differences she could see was thickened plates of armour that protected her upper chest and shoulders. Bowning her head down as her helmet formed, she stifled an amazed gasp as she saw, clear as day, an Eastern man standing in front of him.
He was wearing a dark orange shirt and dark blue pants and there was an aura of unimaginable power and strength around him. He wore a slightly amused expression on his face and his left hand rested loosely on a strange and blocky device that strongly resembled the shape of the Buckles they had received. His right hand was gripping a strange lightning bolt shaped crystal that seemed to call to her, promising incredible power and strength but also held an undercurrent of danger and an unspoken promise to destroy all those who were unworthy. Shuddering as an ancient-looking helmet flashed over her head, she wondered who he was and why there was an aching feeling in her heart when she looked at him. Suppressing another shudder, she looked down to see that the white leathery material that covered her hands and feet was now speckled with a thin coating of red…almost as if it had been splattered with blood. In a burst of slightly pixelated fire, the words 'Kamen Rider ARKOS' flashed on her visor and she was left wondering what the capitalised word stood for.
"I…I…" Weiss stammered for a few moments, her old fear of her father's rage creeping up on her again. "No, father. I am still your daughter and I love you very much but this is what I have to do. Please, just go –"
"You stupid little girl!" He yelled at her as Yang held back Ruby from acting rashly. "I raised you! I instilled in you the values you hold like looking after your family! Valuing your life above all else! Protecting what is most important to you!"
A sharp crack rang out over the post-transformation sounds of the other Riders as Weiss clapped a hand to her face in shock. Her father, a man whose anger issues had practically defined her upbringing, had slapped her; even after promising tearfully that he would never, ever, lay a hand on her again. To his credit, her father seemed to realise what he had done in the heat of the moment and was looking ashamed…but it was too late for him. All respect she had gradually built up for him, his company, and even the Schnee name evaporated in an instant. The transformed Riders, the rest of team JNPR, and the adults all held their collective breaths at the raw fury that flashed in her eyes. Closing them, she spoke in a low voice that held no emotion whatsoever.
"Gerard," she said, speaking her father's name out loud for the first time, as the stinging on her cheek faded. "What the hell do you think I'm doing now?"
Gerard opened his mouth to reply but found nothing could come out. His daughter spun around to face the oncoming horde of Grimm and lifted her right arm above her head, her index and middle fingers pointing up to the sky. She had made her choice and, for another fleeting moment, he was immensely proud of her standing up for herself. Unfortunately, as had happened before, his eyes flashed black and red and the rage took over his mind once more as his mind began to think up deliciously devious ways he could tear her away from the group she had integrated with. Ironwood saw this and shook his head in dismay.
"Henshin!" Her outstretched fingers caught one of the 'arms' of the snowflake, the momentum spinning it around faster than the eye could see.
An icy gust of wind chilled everyone to the bone and stopped the oncoming wave of Grimm as their small minds tried to understand what was happening. A blanket of snowflakes soon followed, covering Weiss from head to toe as the others looked on in amazement and fear. In the centre of the impromptu igloo was Weiss, aware of frozen crystals forming on her exposed face and legs, who stood with her eyes closed as images flashed behind her eyelids. She could see a Rider, whose armour looked similar to Ken's but in green and purple, fighting with a club-headed lance. Cards seemed to fly out of his weapon and into the legs of the Rider, who leapt into the air to deliver a freezing strike to a monster. Blinking her eyes, the scene changed to a hallway of some sort where two orange coloured warriors were battling a strange sand-themed monster with two other armoured people backing them up. One of the warriors produced a thick set of armour and began charging some sort of attack but whatever happened next wasn't shown to her.
The thick coating of ice on her legs and chest shattered to reveal a light blue and grey bodysuit very similar to the combat dress she usually wore, complete with the red collar and ruffles on the ends of her sleeves. Any embarrassment she may have felt vanished as an armoured indigo and silver combat dress appeared over the bodysuit to protect her chest and upper thighs. On the right side of her chest, her snowflake-like symbol appeared and Myrtenaster appeared in a sheath on her left hip. As the bitingly cold wind died down, a low howl of a wolf echoed through the ears of everyone present as a strikingly realistic helmet all but shattered onto her head. It was shaped like a snarling wolf's head and Kenzaki had to shake his head a few times to ensure he was seeing what he was actually seeing. Instead of the single-coloured eye pieces or the multicoloured lenses that Yang had, Weiss' helmet was characterised by two incredibly realistic wolf eyes that seemed to shimmer and move in the midday sun. Her 'crusher' was shaped like Blake's but the sides were lengthened enough to show a full mouth of slightly off-white 'teeth'. The words 'Masked Rider Frostbite' flashed up on her visor for the briefest of moments before she dismissed the 'Safe Mode' protocol information box.
Smiling under his helmet, even though he was puzzled by the strange design choices the Systems seemed to have, Kenzaki settled into another ready stance and drew his Blay Rouser. Holding both blades in front of him, he knew what he needed to do.
"Only one thing to do now: Kamen Rider Blade!" He struck a pose as a faint image of his Ace Card shimmered behind him. Seeing this, the other Riders nodded as one before settling into their poses.
"Scythe Rider Blaze!" Ruby withdrew Crescent Rose and held it in front of her as her flower-like personal symbol shimmered into existence behind her, a mantis on one of its petals.
"Bunker Rider Gauntlet!" Yang pumped her arms and felt the satisfying tremor that ran up her arms whenever a new shell was loaded as her flaming heart symbol flashed behind her, a mantis shrimp darting between the tongues of flame. The HUD was still telling her something about an 'Elemental Upgrade System' but she would worry about the nuances of her new powers later.
"Animal Rider Fatalis!" Unhooking the Gambol Shroud from the back of her belt, Blake dropped down on all fours and pointed the muzzle at the approaching Grimm as her shadowed flame symbol appeared behind her. Unbeknownst to her, the silhouette of a sabre toothed cat appeared in the centre of her symbol and mirrored her stance.
"Masked Rider Frostbite!" Weiss drew out Myrtenaster from its sheath and spun the Dust cylinder once, a glyph forming beneath her feet. Her snowflake symbol shimmered behind her and, for the briefest of moments; a wolf could be seen running behind the snowflake.
"Kamen Rider ARKOS!" Milos and Akouo appeared in Pyrrha's hands as she held them in a relaxed stance. As with the others, her symbol appeared behind her but the red shield behind the spear had changed into a strange golden disc with some sort of reptile foot on it. Whatever it was, it was an animal none of the assembled adults had ever seen before.
The adults stepped back as the Riders held their poses for a few more moments and, as one, charged at the wall of black. Ironwood shook his head once more as he turned to Gerard; Weiss' father finally beginning to snap out of his stupor at seeing the transformed Riders.
"I hope you're happy, Gerard." Ironwood said, shaking his head. "You just severed any hope of mending your relationship with her. Just like you did with Winter."
The older man shook his head in denial as he saw the way his now-estranged daughter fought with the Grimm. The amount of power the Buckle contained was immeasurable and he would not stand for it to be in the hands of a girl barely out of her childhood. Her so-called friends would only provide a hindrance in her developing her fullest potential.
"I will not accept this for a moment. I will let her have her fun for now but she will soon learn that I control everything under my domain." He hissed with anger, stalking off back inside the Transport.
"You think he'll try something in the future?" Qrow asked, angling his head at the departing airship, nothing that none of the Grimm seemed to be interested in it. Ironwood sighed and looked at the Tower behind them.
"I think they'll need to be ready for anything."
TBC…
AN2: Gee, I wonder why Pyrrha's seeing all those images and why her symbol changed like that? I wonder what it could all mean…said the author knowing exactly where everything's going to end up and enjoying the mental and emotional trauma to come.
Also, to the anonymous reviewer who said Jaune does have the mindset to be a Rider; there are only 5 known Created/Secret Systems. As of this moment, he doesn't have the proper mental strength to be a Rider and wouldn't really be able to grasp the true meaning of what being a Rider really means. Of course, I have plenty of development for him in that respect but I can't say what it is just yet...only a hint that one of the lines for a future chapter in my 'Story Bible' is 'Jaune pushes tip of sword through Pyrrha's skin as his eyes darken'
